Carnival Valor Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Fabulous First Time Cruise!

Sail Date: June 24, 2007

Reviewed:9 years ago

Traveled As: Family (older children)

Room Type: Oceanview

This being our first cruise, and not really knowing what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised by this ship. The entire staff was friendly, helpful and went above and beyond to make our stay magical. There was plenty of deck space to lay out by the pool on "at sea" days and there was never a lack of anything to do or food to eat. The only thing that would have made it better was a little less rain (can't control that) and other family and friends to enjoy it with us!

Pros: Great ports and ship service.

Cons: Not enough time in ports.

Recommends Carnival Valor? Yes!

Category Ratings

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Cabin / Stateroom

We found the room to be generous in size. Much more than we expected. The bathroom is small, but we did manage to get 3 women (2 of which are teenagers) through there and ready every day. Our steward kept it very clean. The kids loved the towel animals. We had an ocean view, and our window was a generous size and allowed much light into the room.

Ship Quality

We found this ship pretty easy to get around. On a few of the middle floors, it was a bit difficult to get from one end to the other, especially if it was poring rain outside and we didn't want to cross the deck, but otherwise it was fine. The rooms were very clean. Our steward kept our bathroom spotless and left us special treats on occasion. The decor on the ship was tasteful and not over the top. I expected to find the passageways crowded and difficult to maneuver around people, but was very pleasantly surprised to find how uncrowded the ship felt.

Food and Dining

The wait staff was excellent. My daughter and I have a gluten allergy, and they were very accomodating to this. At dinner, we ordered our food ahead for the next day, so it was prepared specifically for our allergy. There was always a great variety to choose from, as well as some standards that were always available, which our kids enjoyed. The breakfast and lunch buffets always offered a wide variety so everyone was able to find plenty to eat. A high quality restaurant experience every night!

Service and Staff

As stated above, we have a couple people in our family with a gluten allergy, and the hostess and waiter went above and beyond to ensure we had meals we could eat, that were tasty as well. Our waiter even went so far as to make special desserts for us a few nights, as that is the most difficult area to have food prepared gluten-free, and still feel you're getting something special.

Entertainment

The song and dance review shows were fun, but we really enjoyed the comedy nights. Excellent performers. We played trivia a few times and enjoyed that, but otherwise, if we had time on the boat, we were out in the sun!!

Port Ratings

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This port offered great local color. Very undeveloped which was nice to see. Great local crafts at good prices. Our shore excursion was well worth the money!!!
Don't Miss: Canopy and Tabyana Beach tour.

This was our only stop we did not schedule a tour. Our kids really wanted to go to the turtle farm, so we took a taxi out there. They enjoyed it, but it was rather pricey for what it was. We then went to the public beach, which was very nice and clean. Our time was cut short by a major rain storm and waiting for the tenders in ankle deep water was not fun, but it was a great day up to that point.
Don't Miss: The beach and water.

We went on a beach snorkel excursion here. We took a bus ride to a locals beach. We appreciated that they did not try to make it too "resort-like." The staff were friendly and showed their love of the coral reefs which they swim around every day. The colors of the water around here were the most amazing!!
Don't Miss: The water and coral reefs.

Unfortunately, we had a very rainy start to this day. We did a horseback ride in an eco park through the rain, but then it cleared and were treated to a great lunch by a fabulous pool. We would have enjoyed more time at the pool!!

Review Stats

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